To 'Priors,' Two-a-Days Are a Snap

Offensive lineman Sander Gossard put Navy's recently completed preseason camp in perspective. The camp lasted 15 days and included several two-a-day practices. It was hard, but not as hard as the Navy boot camp he went through in 2003 and maybe not even as hard as the job he held in 2002.

Gossard, a 6-foot-4, 273-pound junior, is the third-string guard for the Midshipmen. He is one of five players on the roster who was "prior enlisted," meaning he served in the Navy before attending the academy.

In Gossard's case, being prior enlisted is not even the start of his story. He was a standout soccer goalie at Northern Valley Regional High in Harrington Park, N.J., and played for Division I Albany as a freshman in 2001.

He left school, however, soon after the Sept. 11 attacks and spent a year working to remove debris from Ground Zero. From there, he enlisted in the Navy. He completed the Navy's technical training program -- known as "A" school -- after boot camp, then was stationed at the Navy's Nuclear Power School in Charleston, S.C.

The Navy keeps open a few spots to the Naval Academy Prep School for enlisted men and women who show an aptitude in technology. Gossard was offered one of those spots a few days before he was to report to a ship.

At NAPS, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich changed Gossard's life. Gossard said he planned on playing soccer at NAPS and at the academy but attended a football meeting just in case. After the meeting, players were offered peanut butter sandwiches. Gossard was sold.

"I knew Navy football was an up-and-coming program, plus they offered us food," he said. "My mom keeps saying, 'You're getting your head busted over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.' "

Gossard, 24, is one of two prior enlisted players on the depth chart. The other is junior Derik Rothchild, a third-string defensive end. The other "priors" on the team are sophomore defensive end Richard Marshall, sophomore wide receiver Eric Montgomery and freshman linebacker Jeff Steinmetz.

All five give Navy's current players a unique perspective on the jobs that await them upon graduation.

"Those guys were on the ground, they've seen a lot of stuff," said senior Irv Spencer, a starting linebacker. "One of the guys in my company -- he's not a football player, he's a boxer -- he has a Purple Heart from being hit by an unexploded mortar [in Iraq]. They let us know what it's like to be on their end, what they're looking for from a junior officer. A lot of guys on the team ask them questions about what they've seen, because we know we're going to see it, too.

"We have a lot of respect for them. They've been through a lot."

In Gossard's case, that includes boot camp.